


This House

by valda



Category: Welcome to Night Vale
Genre: Autistic Carlos, Fibro Cecil, Fluff, Multi, Mute Roger, Physically Disabled Earl
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-27
Updated: 2015-06-27
Packaged: 2018-04-06 11:59:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,722
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4220913
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/valda/pseuds/valda
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Earl, Carlos, and Cecil have all had a very long day.</p>
            </blockquote>





	This House

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Jathis](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jathis/gifts).



> This was written for jathis, based on her headcanons. I hope I did them justice. Please let me know if I got anything wrong.

Earl's shift ended at 2 in the morning, as usual. The first few hours of his long workday had been spent testing new recipes with Chef Mason. Then, of course, there'd been dinner prep, service, and cleanup. He never left work until the kitchen was sparkling, and today was no exception. It was with a sense of tired satisfaction that he finally made his way home.  
  
Quietly, Earl went through the chants and minor sacrifices to open the front door. He included the rituals against creaking and squeaking to make sure the aged wood door and its old hinges remained silent as he eased it open and slipped through.  
  
He was troubled to find that there were still lights on in the house, issuing softly into the entrance hall from the living room. Earl rounded the corner on alert.  
  
He discovered Cecil and Carlos nestled together on the couch, sleeping beneath Carlos' favorite weighted blanket. Cecil's head was on Carlos' shoulder. The position looked as though it could be comfortable, but Cecil was intermittently trembling and letting out soft whines. Meanwhile, Carlos' head was lolled back against the couch, mouth open, and it looked like he was having trouble breathing.  
  
And then there was Earl's son, sitting in the armchair next to the couch. At the moment Roger looked very small. And awake.  
  
"What's going on?" Earl whispered as he signed the words. "Why are you still up?"  
  
Roger slipped down from the armchair and hurried to Earl's side, wrapping himself around his father's waist. He didn't reply immediately. Finally he pulled back and responded with a flurry of hands, "Cecil and Carlos were so tired. I said they should go to bed. They wanted to watch a movie. They fell asleep. I think they should go to real bed."  
  
Earl knelt beside his son. "You're right," he said, signing along. "They should. They should have listened to you. Don't worry. I'll take care of them. Can you help?"  
  
Roger nodded, and Earl smiled.  
  
The first priority was Carlos. Earl had a suspicion about the way the scientist seemed to be struggling for breath. Earl pulled the blanket down into their laps and gently shifted Cecil's body so that he was no longer leaning against Carlos. Both of them were still fully clothed. Earl started unbuttoning Carlos' shirt.

"I knew it," he muttered.

He made short work of the buttons, five-fingered and three-fingered hands both still perfectly deft--though perhaps a bit trembly due to exhaustion. It had been a long day, after all. Earl sighed and forced that thought away. "Roger," he said, tugging Carlos' body forward, "help me get his shirt off."

His son reached around awkwardly to pull at the flannel fabric, working it down Carlos' slack arms. Carlos stirred, gasping a bit for air.

"Are you awake?" Earl asked quietly. "You left your binder on."

"Oh," Carlos blinked. He gasped a little again. "Oh," he repeated.

"Don't panic," Earl said. "I've got you. Concentrate. Breathe slowly." As Roger finished pulling the shirt away, Earl carefully undid the clasps of the rainbow unicorn binder, loosening it gently. Carlos took a deep breath. "There you go."

Earl passed the binder to Roger, then leaned in to give Carlos a quick kiss. He was tempted to reprimand the scientist, but Carlos knew the danger he'd put himself in well enough. "Did Cecil run out of forks today?" he asked instead.

Carlos' breathing was quickly stabilizing. He hugged himself around the chest--he was still self-conscious, despite how long they'd all been a family. Earl tugged the weighted blanket up from Carlos' lap to his shoulders. "There," he said, smiling as Carlos poked his hands out to play his fingers along the beaded constellation patterns.

Carlos smiled softly back, gazing down at the fabric. "Yeah," he said in answer to Earl's previous question. "He had a really bad day. I didn't want to leave him."

"Did you eat something?" Earl asked.

"Yeah," Carlos said again, and he suddenly looked guilty. "Roger cooked."

Earl turned to his son, who had just returned from hanging Carlos' binder in the closet. "You cooked?" he asked. Roger nodded. "Did the oven give you any trouble?"

"A little," Roger signed, "but I appeased it with bath salts."

"Good job," Earl said. "Thank you."

"Thank you," Carlos echoed fervently.

"It sounds like you had a bad day too," Earl said, turning to Carlos and running a hand back through the silvering hair at the scientist's temple. "I'm glad Roger was here for you. I wish I could have been." Carlos opened his mouth, but Earl laid a finger across his lips. "You never have to apologize for needing help," he said. "Not in this house."

Carlos hunched his shoulders in embarrassment, staring at his lap. Earl leaned in and kissed him on the cheek. "We need to get Cecil to bed," he said. "He's going to be really sore tomorrow. I bet he'd like one of your massages to help him sleep."

Carlos looked up. "I can do that," he said.

"Okay. Let's see if he's up for it." Earl patted Carlos on the shoulder, then moved to crouch in front of Cecil. The radio host still hadn't stirred, but that didn't mean he was asleep. He'd probably awakened from his characteristically light, troubled slumber the moment Earl first spoke to Roger.

Earl laid a hand on his knee. "Cecil?" he said. "Are you awake?"

Cecil groaned, rolling his head to the side. Carlos leaned over and planted a peck on his nose. "We need to get you into bed," the scientist said.

"Ugh," Cecil replied. He didn't move or open his eyes. "I'm awake."

"I'm going to carry you," Earl said. "All right?"

"Uh huh."

Earl shifted Carlos' blanket off Cecil, then slipped one arm behind his shoulders and the other under his knees. "Up we go," he grunted, carefully straightening his legs and lifting Cecil off the couch. "Roger, would you go pull the covers back for me?"

He gently carried Cecil down the hall in the wake of his son, who was off like a shot at the request. When he entered the bedroom he found the blankets and sheet pulled back and Roger digging in the nightstand for Carlos' lavender massage oil.

"Thank you so much, Roger," Earl beamed at his thoughtful son, laying Cecil carefully down onto the mattress. "You take really good care of your dads."

Roger grinned, glancing away and scuffing his foot.

Carlos shuffled into the bedroom, wrapped in his blanket and looking adorable. "Do you want a massage, Ceec?" he asked.

Cecil's eyes were still closed. He let out a noncommittal sound.

"We don't have to," Carlos said. "We can just go right to sleep. Whatever you want."

Cecil groaned. Earl placed a gentle hand on the radio host's shoulder. "If a massage is okay, tap your finger twice," he suggested. After a moment, Cecil's pointer finger shifted up and came down softly on the mattress two times. "Okay," Earl said. "Carlos, you should probably go brush your teeth first. I'm going to get ready for bed too."

As Carlos dragged his blanket into the master bath, Earl turned and crouched next to Roger, giving him a strong hug. "Thank you, Roger. You have been an incredible help. But you've got school tomorrow, so it's time for you to get to bed. Have you brushed your teeth?" He pulled back to watch Roger's response, which was "No." Earl laughed. "Okay, you go and do that and get in your pajamas, then come back and tell us good night."

Roger scampered off, leaving Earl to finally shrug out of his chef's uniform, dropping the jacket and slacks into the hamper. He closed his eye and stretched his arms to the ceiling, feeling a pleasant popping running up his back. Bed would come soon. Bed would be nice.

Carlos emerged from the bathroom, still draped in the blanket but now carrying his pants. He placed them in the laundry bin and scooted up next to Earl, nuzzling into his neck.

Earl wrapped an arm around Carlos' waist beneath the blanket and kissed the top of his head. "Roger left the massage oil out for you," he said.

Carlos shifted to smile at Earl and kiss him on the mouth before moving to the bed. "It's bedtime," the scientist said over his shoulder. "Are you coming?"

"In a minute." Earl slipped into the master bath to wash his face and brush his own teeth, carefully covering the mirror when he was finished. When he returned to the bedroom, he found Carlos cross-legged on the bed with the blanket over his shoulders, giving Cecil a careful, lavender-scented massage.

Earl climbed gingerly onto the other side of the bed, stretching out to watch the scientist's expert hands. Carlos was methodical and dutiful; he knew Cecil's body well, knew the tender points to avoid and which muscles to concentrate on. Cecil sighed and Earl could almost feel him relaxing under Carlos' touch. He leaned past Carlos to kiss Cecil's forehead.

He didn't mean to fall asleep. He meant to watch until he was sure Cecil and Carlos were sleeping. But the next thing Earl knew, he was squinting against the shafts of late-morning sunlight streaming in through the window.

"Good morning," Carlos said quietly. Earl looked around to see the scientist sitting on the bench at the foot of the bed. "Cecil's still asleep." Turning his head, Earl took in the sight of their sweet Cecil, lying there peacefully with his hands folded across his stomach. It looked like he was smiling.

Earl smiled too. "What time is it?" he asked in a soft voice.

"You've got about an hour before you need to leave," Carlos said. "That's enough time, right?"

"Yeah," Earl said, heart suddenly racing, "but--"

"Roger's at school," Carlos assured him. "I made him a lunch and everything."

Earl sank back against the mattress in relief. "Thank you."

"You were fast asleep when he came to say good night," Carlos said. "And your alarm didn't wake you this morning. I turned it off so it wouldn't bother Cecil."

"I'm sorry I didn't wake up," Earl murmured.

"Hey," Carlos whispered back pointedly, "you never have to apologize for needing help, in this house."


End file.
